A New Member in the Family

We add the very beautiful Arabian, "Kite", to our family.

I told Jill Curtis that if no one else had shown an interest in this wonderful horse, I would like to adopt her. Her response was: "That would be great! Poor Kite really needs a family of her own where she gets more attention. I would LOVE for you to adopt her!"

I will place her in the capable and loving hands of my sister, Betsy, and be joyful in the knowledge that she will be loved and well cared for for the rest of her days!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Leading Wishes

Sunday, Dec. 16th, Wishes seemed suddenly to be very wary of me, and didn't want me touching her face or lifting her feet. She even started running around and bucking and kicking out. At one point, she ran right into one of the pipes of her stall and almost knocked herself out. She was quite stunned. I was completely confused as to what was causing the problem.

On Tuesday, Dec. 18th, Rachel came back from Oregon and wanted to go out to Shiloh, so she and I loaded up the babies and went out. The first thing I noticed was that the two foals that had been in the stalls next to Wishes had been moved, and a halter and lead rope had been tied to Wishes' stall. Ah ha! Someone was trying to move her. Again, she acted upset and nervous, especially since she was all alone. She was crying and calling to the other horses a lot.

I worked on petting her and trying to calm her down, but didn't do much more than that.

Katherine was there, working with Ace, so we chatted a bit and visited with other horses. Just when we were getting ready to leave, Jill said that she and Sally had tried to move Wishes to the "Geezer Pen", but couldn't catch her. So I said, "Oh, do you want me to move her?" She said, "Yeah, that would be great." I don't know why I offered to move her, because I had never put a halter and lead rope on her. I was still trying to desensitize her to ropes, because she is terrified of them. But, Katherine and Ace were nearby and I asked her to help me. Fortunately, getting the halter on her was actually very easy. The hard part was going to be the lead rope. But, we got that on her and I begin trying to lead her across the ranch to the "Geezer Pen". Thank Goodness Katherine was there to coach me! I was very nervous and couldn't remember all the little things I was supposed to be doing. Long story short, we made it across the ranch without too much trouble --- truly, I owe a great deal of the credit to Katherine. Without her there to help and guide us, I don't know if we would have made it! Thanks again, Katherine!

My Hoof Dilemma

So, one of my biggest worries has been the condition of my little filly's hooves. I doubt they have ever been trimmed, or if they have, it was probably only once. They were getting so long that it looked as though they were beginning to curl forward. However, I had to first gain her trust, and get her to allow me to approach her; then, get her used to me touching her; then, get her used to me picking up her feet; and ONLY THEN could I start trimming them! Well, I was able to clean her hooves with a pick last Friday and Saturday, so Sunday afternoon I borrowed Betsy's rasp and tried filing the hooves down. Wishes did really well, and we just did a little at a time so she wouldn't get too tired. I got all four hooves filed down about 1/4 inch (at least), and I felt very relieved. I'll be sure to file a little bit each time that I go out, until they are all the right length. She's such an angel and really wants to be good. She's still a little nervous, but both yesterday and today she walked up to me as soon as she saw me, so I know she likes me and trusts me. I'm so proud of her!

One more pic of Grace on Dec. 2, 2007

The pictures in the previous post are as follows: Grace's cute patoot; A Dani salute; Betsy working with Kite; and Katherine's beautiful Tennessee Walker, Ace.

More Pics from Dec. 2, 2007

We even look related

Another great day with wishes. She's getting more and more used to me touching her, walking around her, moving on either side of her, and touching her face. She let me pick up each of her legs on two separate "sessions" with her. Still a little nervous about that, but an amazing accomplishment considering that this was only Day 2 in her new home.

Her new mom

Well, after battling a week-long case of acute tonsillitis, I finally felt well enough to go visit Wishes today. The weather has turned cold and windy, but fortunately, it wasn't raining like yesterday.

Wishes has been moved to her new stall, and is all alone. Her old pal, Fortune, is her next-door neighbor, though, and they keep each other company. Having seen the way the Shiloh staff wrangles the foals whenever they need to move them, I knew that the move was probably traumatic for her. Sure enough, she did not like me coming in her stall, and quickly moved as far away from me as she could get. I felt a bit dejected, especially after last week's wonderful visit, but decided that if she was going to move, I was going to make her think it was my idea that she was moving. So, I grabbed a lead rope and swung it behind her to keep her moving around in circles. As soon as she'd stop in a corner, I'd pressure her to keep moving. Only when I decided it was time to stop, would I back off and let her stop briefly. Then I'd step forward again and get her moving. After 10 minutes of this "game", I backed off and just stood in the middle of her stall. She must have had enough of running, because she turned right around and looked at me and waited. I approached her slowly, and much to my delight, she let me start petting her. I was able to get that darn halter off of her, and she seemed truly grateful. I pet her for quite awhile, and then went to go visit other horses for a bit. For the rest of the day, she let me approach her every time I went into her stall again. She even let me lift two of her legs! I spent most of the time just trying to scratch the mud off of her coat, which she seemed to love. She even gave my coat an affectionate nibble, as though she was trying to groom me too! I can't get over how far we've already come. I think she's adopted me as her new mom.

More Pics from November 24th

BOY'S DAY OUT

Today, all the men in the family joined me out at Shiloh. This was Ed's and Nolan's first trip out, and Nolan brought along his best mate, Will.

We arrived just before noon on another beautiful, unseasonably warm day. The guys were all impressed with the magnificent Frisian, Tanis; Dani and Grace ran around petting everything from the pot-bellied pigs, to the goats, donkeys and dogs; Dani rode a tractor; and Ed kept an eye on everyone while I visited with Wishes.

I found my sweet girl lying on the ground, sunbathing and half asleep. I dared to hope she'd let me approach her without jumping to her feet and shying away. Much to my delight, she never moved a muscle as I crept in quietly, knelt next to her and started rubbing her all over. She almost fell completely to sleep in my lap at one point. I just sat and stroked her warm coat, speaking to her quietly for about 20 minutes. Then the ranch crew had to come and administer some antibiotics to "Blue Moon" in the stall next to us (he had a nasty puncture wound on his right, front leg), and the wrangling that was taking place so close to us upset my little girl and she finally jumped to her feet and took flight. It was such a wonderful day, though. Happiness all around.

A Great Day

Wishes finally let me pet her today!!! I'm so happy. I hung out all morning, in and around the foals' paddock. Fortune, who is very used to people, was letting me pet her all morning. She even followed me around wherever I went. Her buddy, Showbiz, also followed me around and eventually let me pet him and rub him. That was the first time he ever let me touch him, so I was feeling very encouraged. Eventually, Wishes joined our little group. It took me some time to get close enough, but eventually I was able to take hold of her lead rope. She resisted at first, but today I was in a much better position to hold on to her and move with her. Once I put my hand on her neck, she realized that I wasn't going to eat her, and stopped trying to get away. She stood still and let me pet her all up and down her neck, stroke her back, rub her rump, and even reach over the top of her and "drape" myself over her back to touch and pet the other side. We did this for about 5 minutes, and I wanted to end on a good note, so I left while she was still calm and happy!! Hurray!!!!!!!! I just wish I had pictures.

My First Big Mistake

Yesterday, my little filly, Wishes, was weaned from her mother, and placed into a large stall/paddock along with about 5 other foals. She was put into a halter with a short lead rope dangling from her throat about 18 inches. I was not present for this event, but read about it on Shiloh's web page (see http://www.shilohlasvegas.com/ under "news").

Feeling anxious about the condition of my little horse, I rushed out there today with two babies in tow (my daughter, Grace, and Baby Cason, for whom I nanny). I was able to spend a few minutes in the small paddock area with Wishes, and even got her to eat from my hand. Jill drove by and stopped to tell me that Wishes did very well yesterday, was easy to catch, and gave the guys very little trouble. She added, "As a matter-of-fact, you can just grab her lead rope and handle her." Going against my better judgment to take things slowly, the temptation to grab ahold of her overwhelmed me, and I decided to try it. I quickly got another handful of hay, and held it out for her to eat, this time reaching through the pipe corral. Dizzy and Fortune also came over for a nibble, and once she was distracted, I grabbed ahold of Wishes's lead. She immediately flew backward and nearly dislocated my shoulder, as I slammed against the pipes. So, not only did I take us right back to square one, I've given her the idea she can just pull me around anytime she wants. Damn my impatience! Oh well, back to the beginning we go...hopefully a little wiser this time.

A Family Outing

Today, Betsy, Dave and Phillip accompanied Dani, Grace and me to Shiloh. Betsy visited with her favorite horse, Creek. Dani and Grace got to ride Seven. And I spent a little time hanging out with my girl, Wishes.

Baby Steps

This morning when I arrived at Shiloh, I was sad to see a mare had died in the night, and was lying out in the paddock adjacent to Wishes's paddock. The staff at Shiloh did not know what caused the sudden death, and were quite taken by surprise as this young mare had just had her hooves trimmed last week and seemed to be healthy and happy. Poor thing. I am comforted by the knowledge that she was loved and cared for during the last months of her life.

On a happier note, I made some progress with Wishes today. She ate hay from my hand on about 5 different occasions, and even walked away from the pile of hay she was eating to come get the hay from my hand. And one point she gave my hat a quick, appreciative nibble, and then gently turned and walked away. She still won't let me place my hand anywhere on her, though. I spent 2 hours crouching down low and very near her, trying to get as close as possible. When she'd looked up to investigate me, I'd back off to reinforce her behavior with the reward of my departure. She's getting more and more confident with my presence. Jill tells me that she'll be moving Wishes to a stall within a week, and then she and I will get much better acquainted.

Adoption Pending

It's been 26 years since I owned my last horse. Finally, at age 42, my wish to become a horse owner has come to fruition. On November 10, 2007, I began the procedure to adopt a 6 month old filly from the Shiloh Horse Rescue in Sandy Valley, Nevada. Appropriately, the little filly was already named "Wishes"! I think I'll keep it.